


Tearful Wishes

by WanreNolde



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Battle of Hogwarts, Good Draco Malfoy, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Memory Loss, Post-Battle of Hogwarts, Sectumsempra Scene | Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter's Duel in the Bathroom, Time Travel, ooc draco malfoy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-17
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-15 22:29:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28820751
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WanreNolde/pseuds/WanreNolde
Summary: Wishes almost never come true for Harry Potter, so of course he didn't expect this one to come true either.
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter, Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley
Comments: 3
Kudos: 39





	1. The Wish

Harry sat on the windowsill, the textbook clutched tightly in his hand as he watched the night sky. That morning had been horrible, and he wanted nothing more than to change it. He wished he could go back and stop himself from hitting Malfoy with that curse. He wished he could stop Katie from being cursed, or stop Malfoy from getting the mark. He wished for it to be over.

He wished for it all to be over. 

The past six years had been nothing but constant fighting and, Merlin, was he sick of it all. He wanted to live in a world without Voldemort - a world where he could be married with children, a world with Sunday dinners at the Burrow and Hermione laughing and Ron playing chess and no more war.

He wanted it all to be over.

He watched the stars, watched as one of them glimmered slightly brighter than the rest, and thought of Sirius and of his desperate need for family. Finally, after an hour of clutching the book to his chest and watching that star continue to grow even brighter, he cast a quick tempus, saw that it was three in the morning, and glanced up again.

I wish this were all over and I was happy, he thought, and then thought it was silly of him to make wishes like this when he knew it would get him nowhere. 

The boy trudged over to his bed, his sixteen year old body already wearing down from all the fighting, and fell asleep to the sound of Ron’s snores and Neville’s constant moving. 

***  
Harry woke to a much brighter light than he was used to seeing in his dormitory at Hogwarts, and squinted angrily before reaching over to grab his glasses. Upon first glance, the room looked like a hotel of sorts, only thrown off kilter by the dark tones found in everything other than the soft white sheets Harry found himself lying in. However, once he examined it, gazing at the clothes meticulously folded on the trunk at the end of the bed, picture frames he couldn’t quite make out covering the dresser and nightstands, he realized there was no way this wasn’t someone’s home. 

Harry grabbed his wand off the nightstand, happy to find that it was in the same position he always placed it, close enough to grab if he was under attack, but not so close that he could knock it off in the middle of one of his nightmares.

He heard noises from downstairs, voices laughing and carrying up to where he was, and dishes clanging from where he presumed the kitchen was. As he moved, he got the sinking feeling that he knew this place, what with its winding halls and dark architecture. He knew that, with the addition of a screaming portrait and some decapitated elves, this would be identical to the home Sirius had grown up in. He thought that, perhaps if he took a slight detour, he would find a wall covered in a family tapestry, Sirius’ head burned off in anger.

The voices grew louder as he continued down the steps, one of which was strikingly familiar. Harry gripped his wand tighter as he entered an area he knew to be the sitting room. The grey couch was still there, tattered upholstery now fixed neatly. What shocked him, however, was the children dancing around with a white object in their hands - two of them to be exact - and a flattened version of a muggle television displaying the same moves they were following. The girl seemed much smaller than the boy, and couldn’t be much older than five. The scariest part of this image, however, had to be the two blonde heads poking up from the couch, one of which was much too familiar. 

Harry’s hand was white as he gripped his wand, growing almost red as the tallest of the blondes stood up and turned to look at him. Draco Malfoy stood, giving the girl a high five as she finished dancing. The girl beamed at him, a look Harry never thought could be directed at Malfoy of all people, and giggled before her roaming eyes caught sight of the shocked man gripping his wand to his side.

Malfoy turned and, to Harry’s surprise, grinned at him in a similar way to the child, only there was something else hidden in the look. Harry glared at the man, whose expression turned to confusion as he began a ramble that Harry couldn’t possibly process in his current state.

“Darling,” Malfoy spoke excitedly, “Lily has just surpassed James in their dancing game and -” 

Harry raised his wand, pointing it directly at Malfoy just as he had the day before. 

“What kind of trick is this, Malfoy?” Harry ground out, his jaw clenched. He vaguely noticed the ‘children’ from earlier turning off the television and staring at him from behind Malfoy.

“Harry, love what are you on about?” Malfoy reached out, eyebrows scrunched together in concern as Harry glared at him. Harry backed away hurriedly, his wand still pointed at the man in front of him. He was able to notice, now, that Malfoy looked older. The man still had his hair, although it looked a bit thinner, but there were wrinkles on his forehead and around his eyes.

“What kind of trick is this?” Harry continued, his wand shaking ever-so-slightly. “What, you wanted to get me back for yesterday? Wanted to take an aging potion and kidnap me for some kind of revenge?”

Malfoy’s brow furrowed tighter as he stared at Harry. The blonde brought a hand up to rake through his hair, and Harry swore he saw a gold addition to the horde of silver rings Malfoy tended to wear. 

“Harry-”

“STOP CALLING ME THAT” Harry shouted, not allowing Malfoy to explain or answer any of his questions. “You drug me, take some kind of potion, charm your little Slytherin buddies to look like younger versions of my parents, and call me Harry and love and darling? What on earth is your problem, Malfoy? I know I fucked up with that curse yesterday but need I remind you why we were in the bathroom in the first place? Should we ring Myrtle and have her recount the situation?!”

Harry moved, pointing his wand at the children as he did so. “Let me guess, you have Parkinson posing as the little girl, and then Zabini, Crabbe, and Goyle as the others? Pathetic, Malfoy, that you thought I wouldn’t see through your Death Eater schemes.”

Malfoy shook as Harry spoke, gasping as soon as the last phrase exited his mouth. Harry watched as a single tear slipped from the blonde man’s eye, wand still trailed on the children, specifically the girl he knew to be Parkinson. 

“Stop, Harry, please,” Malfoy spoke, voice soft, before raising it. “Teddy! Come get your siblings and bring them to your room please!”

Harry stayed silent, simply glaring at Malfoy as the man struggled to hold back tears. The clanging and music in the kitchen stopped and a teenager with turquoise hair and a physique that vaguely resembled Remus Lupin sauntered into the room, stopping only when he saw Harry’s wand. 

“Dad?” The boy spoke, looking at Harry for some reason. Harry caught sight of the hazel eyes he had seen so many times on another face, and for a moment his wand dropped slightly. “Why are you pointing your wand at them?”

“Teddy,” Malfoy spoke softly. “Please bring your siblings upstairs, love. I believe your father has had another one of his bad dreams.”

The boy, Teddy, remained frozen, watching as Harry stared at him.

“Edward,” Malfoy whispered.

Teddy still did not move.

“Edward Remus Lupin you listen to me right now,” Malfoy spoke slightly louder. Harry’s head whipped around to look at him as soon as the name had left his lips. Teddy broke from his trance and brought his siblings, two of them crying, up the stairs.

“How dare you,” Harry whispered. “How dare you do this to me.”

Malfoy rubbed his temples, another tear escaping, then another, until he sat on the couch, head in his hands as he sobbed. 

Harry watched, still glaring, as Malfoy pulled out his wand and lit up the room with a patronus - a stag - and whispered something to it. Not moments later, a familiar girl with a familiar head of bushy hair was stepping out of their floo, not looking up from the bag she was rummaging in as she spoke.

“Draco I keep telling you to -” the girl looked up at her best friend, stopped speaking, and then gave him the same look she did when she scolded him about his homework. “Harry why on earth do you have your wand pointed at Draco?”

“‘Mione thank goodness you’re here,” Harry kept his wand pointing at the puffy-eyed blonde. “Malfoy tricked me somehow. Last night I was in the dorm and this morning he had kidnapped me and brought me here and he’s transfigured the Slytherins into children and he called one of them Lupin and -”

He was cut off by Hermione walking over and taking his wand out of his hand, putting it into her pocket before steering him over to the same couch as Malfoy.

“Harry,” the girl spoke softly, “what year is it?”

Harry looked at her, puzzled. “1997, why?”

Malfoy looked up, seeming shocked by this. Hermione, puzzled, held Harry’s hands in hers, looking into his green eyes.

“Harry it’s currently 2017.”  
***  
Harry felt confused, more than he ever had, as Hermione spoke to Malfoy, calming the man down as much as she could as the blonde sobbed into her arms. Since when were the two friends? Since when did Malfoy call her ‘Mione? Since when did they forgive each other?

Hermione stood, looking softly at Harry as she offered him her hand. 

“C’mon Harry,” she whispered, “time to go to St. Mungo’s”

Malfoy seemed to choke up even more after that, excusing himself to go into the kitchen for a moment. Harry and Hermione waited for him to come back, a decision that was definitely all Hermione, giving Harry what he felt was the perfect opportunity to ask her the most pressing question to him.

“Why is Malfoy here?”

Hermione sighed, placing her hand on his shoulder. 

“Harry, you and Draco have been married for seventeen years.”

“What?”

“You told me you fell in love with him during our sixth year, and hid it until after the war. Something about realizing he had never had a choice and that everything was forced on him by his father. It was completely true, of course, but no one completely understood how you went from cursing him in the bathroom to kissing him everywhere you could during eighth year.”

“Eighth year?”

“We weren’t in school seventh year. If you’re the Harry from when I think you are, you already know about Dumbledore’s theory. It was correct the entire time, and when he died we had to finish tracking the Horcruxes down.”

“Oh,” Harry mumbled. “But that doesn’t explain how I ended up married to him. And who are those kids?”

“You married him because you bring out the best in each other. If you just watch how he speaks to you and interacts with you, you’ll see it. He loves you so much, Harry, and you love him too. As for the children, Teddy is Remus and Tonks’, but since you’re his godfather you got custody of him as soon as you graduated. The rest belong solely to you and Draco, although he claims they’re more his since he carried them.”

“What?!”

“We are not unpacking all of that right now, Harry, we can speak about it later.”

Harry almost spoke against her, but between her glare and Draco making his way back into the room with a gruff “let’s go,” he didn’t dare to.   
***  
Draco Malfoy, Harry learned, could be quite a crier, especially when it came to Harry himself. Draco’s eyes remained puff throughout the entire consultation with the Healer at St. Mungos. 

Wish Magick, they called it. Magic that had to be performed at a specific hour on a specific day or it wouldn’t work. It just so happened that Harry had managed to make a wish on May 13 at precisely three in the morning, the perfect time to use such magic, and upon his mention of watching a star during the time, the magic became even more complicated.

The Healer remarked that he hoped Harry had gotten everything he wished for, and upon the uncomfortable looks from the three others in the room, coughed uncomfortably and informed the group that the reversal potion could be administered on the next proper day for such magic. 

June 13th, Harry thought, an entire month away. 

Draco’s puffy eyes filled with tears as the Healer explained that, until then, Harry would be unable to remember anything from 1997 until then because, due to the magic being wished-based, and the lack of Harry wishing to remember his life, he technically did not have any of those memories hidden in his subconscious.

Draco cried fully once they got home, Hermione supporting him as Harry stood by awkwardly, not completely sure of what to do. 

Upon hearing their entrance, Teddy entered the living room, shaking as he looked at the trio.

“Aunt Hermione?” the teenager asked softly, causing the bushy-haired woman to look over at him and Draco to force himself back into his composed expression from earlier in the morning. “What’s wrong? Is dad sick?”

Harry, still unsure of what to do, stood still as Draco swooped the boy into his arms. 

“Everything is going to be okay, Teddy,” Hermione spoke softly, sounding slightly reminiscent of Molly Weasley. “Your dad had a bit of an issue with some magic and he can’t remember much, but they’re working on fixing it now, and it’s going to be completely over in a few weeks, okay?”

Teddy, looking unsure and a bit shaky, nodded as he held onto Draco. Part of Harry wanted to hug the two of them, hold them close and tell them everything was going to be okay, but he fought that part off like the Basilisk.

Draco stood and walked over to Harry, softly grabbing onto his hand before guiding him over to the couch. Harry realized with a start that, in his inward struggle, Hermione and Teddy had left the room and were nowhere to be found.

“Harry,” Draco started, choking as his brow furrowed again. “I know you don’t remember anything, but please just know through all of this that I love you and I’m here for you. Whatever you need me to do, I’ll do. If that means holding you through the month, staying in separate rooms, or even-” he choked back a sob, “even me just going away for a little bit, I’ll do it. I just want you to feel safe, and I know that you haven’t in a long time but if me being here makes that worse, I don’t want to contribute to it.”

Harry stared at the man in front of him, this spectre wearing Draco Malfoy’s face, and in that moment, all he could think about was the bathroom. He thought that, perhaps, Draco Malfoy knew what it felt like to expect danger at every corner. He thought back to the wish he had made, the thought that he wanted nothing more than to be happy. 

“Malfoy,” Harry trailed off, unsure of how to phrase his intentions. 

Malfoy, of course, dramatic git that he was, took this as Harry wanting him to leave, and breathed in deeply before nodding and standing up. He shook his head for a moment, Harry watching him, and began to walk away when Harry spoke. 

“You can stay.”

Malfoy turned, looked at Harry, and smiled.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry gets to know his children.

The children were still in Teddy’s room, and with it being only three hours after the incident had occurred, all four of them remained shaken and terrified, even with the presence of their Aunt Hermione.

The woman explained to all of them the situation, using the best phrasing she could possibly think of with children, and held back tears as she felt her mind drift off to imagine her own children experiencing something so terrifying. James seemed to be glued to his sister’s side, the thirteen year old holding his five year old sister in his arms as she cried. Albus and Scorpius, on the other hand, were hidden behind them on the bed, completely silent other than Scorpius’ quiet whimpers.

Harry and Draco entered the room, the latter guiding the former with his hand. Hermione, taking this as her cue to leave, told the children goodbye and left. James was glaring at Harry suspiciously as the man entered the room, and Lily hid her face in her brother’s chest at the sight of their father. 

“Children,” Draco spoke softly, “I presume your Aunt ‘Mione told you everything, correct?” 

The children all nodded their heads. Draco looked up at Harry as he knelt in front of the children, knees cracking and blonde hair falling ever so slightly out of place. Harry watched the man, so different from the boy he knew, and was taken aback at how good he seemed with the children, how soft he had become. 

“Your father doesn’t remember much, but he’s still your dad. He still loves you, right Harry?”

Harry nodded, mouth gaping as the children stared at him with a mix of green and grey eyes.

“You don’t need to be afraid of him. It’s just like he’s stuck in one of those bad dreams he and I have. You know how those get, loves. But he is going to be okay, and he’s going to remember everything in a month. For now, I just ask that you be patient with him, okay?”

All four children answered with a quiet “yes, Papa,” and Draco reached out his arms for all of them to fall into. Only one of the children remained, his eyes glued to Harry. Harry started slightly. He hadn’t noticed it earlier, but the boy looked exactly like him, green eyes and raven hair to boot. The only thing he was missing were the glasses and the scar, and Harry hoped he never received either. The boy stared for a moment longer before slowly standing up and making his way over to Harry, who stood frozen at the sight of the eleven year old. The boy tugged on Harry’s pajama sleeve, prompting Harry to kneel down in front of the boy as his small arms wrapped around Harry’s neck. 

“Are you okay, dad?” the boy mumbled his question into Harry’s neck.

“I’ll be okay, um-”

“Albus,” the boy muttered again.

Harry smiled softly. “Albus.”

After a moment of hugging, a soft cough brought them back to the real world, where Draco stood smiling at them, the other children remaining behind him. He gestured for Harry to stand up before the entire group made their way downstairs.

***

The children had already stolen Harry’s heart, and it wasn’t even time for dinner. Lily had taken it upon herself to teach Harry every animal name she knew, assuming he had lost his entire memory rather than a decades worth, and insisting that animals were the most important thing to know. 

“ _ Especially dragons _ ,” she spoke in the most serious voice a five year old could muster. 

She went through a dragon book and a magical zoo picture book before his attention was stolen by Scorpius and Albus arguing over which Quidditch team was better. 

“ _ Obviously _ ,” said Albus, “it’s the Hollyhead Harpies. I mean they have  _ Ginny Weasley _ , Scorp!”

“But the Chudley Cannons have such good offense and their seeker is  _ brilliant _ ,” the blonde boy argued. 

Harry had startled at the mention of Ginny, having not even thought about her through this entire ordeal. He wondered, briefly, if she had ended up with Dean, but shook his head at the thought. 

“I think you’ll find that Puddlemere is the superior team,” a posh voice said behind him, and Harry felt a prickle on the back of his neck. Harry turned to see Draco standing in the doorway, a cup of tea held delicately in his hands. “Dinner is ready, darlings.”

The children ran over each other to get into the dining area, and Harry stifled a laugh as Draco scolded them for bad manners. Draco turned to look at him, shaking his head and laughing quietly.

“They are most definitely your children,” the man whispered to Harry, his spot in the doorway a mere two feet away. “You would think they were raised solely by you with how they behave sometimes. But then you see them in public and they’ve somehow made a turn for the better.”

Harry smiled slightly, looking down at his hands. 

“I wish I knew them,” Harry said, his voice barely above a whisper.

“You will,” Draco spoke, his voice stronger than it had been earlier in the day. “Once you return to your part of the timeline, you’ll make the same choices, and then you’ll get to see them through everything.”

Harry nodded, although part of him was screaming that he didn’t believe a word Draco was saying. He stayed silent for a moment, not registering Draco’s presence getting closer until the blonde was kneeling in front of him. 

“Harry,” Draco whispered, bringing his hand up to cup the man’s tan cheek, “darling you don’t have to worry about it not happening. You’re going to know them and see everything.”

“What,” Harry’s voice broke and he cleared his throat. “What if I didn’t just go through time but another universe like the Healer said? What if when I go back, there’s no way that I can have this life again?”

“Harry you will,” Draco whispered, “I promise. Now let’s go eat some dinner.”

***

The children went to bed after a few hours of play-time in the living room in which Harry had learned a few more things about all of them. Teddy, he found out, was a Hufflepuff, and was very proud of it. James was a Gryffindor, a fact that surprised no one. Albus was a Slytherin, and everyone had expected for Scorpius to end up in Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw, but he had somehow managed to get into Slytherin, and when Harry asked how, the boy simply winked.

He also found out that Lily had already decided she wanted to be a magizoologist or a dragon trainer, and that she was already hounding Charlie for an internship despite being the age she was. 

Draco seemed to be most fond of James and Scorpius, and the two boys had remained cuddled up to the blonde on the couch as Harry sat awkwardly in the armchair nearest to the window. Teddy and Albus seemed content to sprawl across the floor and read as Lily played with her toy dragons, and Harry found that, despite the feeling that he didn’t belong there, it was all quite calming.

Once the children had been sent to bed, Draco and Harry sat in complete silence until Harry broke it with a loud yawn. Draco simply chuckled and offered to bring him to their room.

Harry walked into the room, feeling completely out of place as Draco grabbed his pajamas from the top of the trunk and lay them on the bed. Draco glanced up and caught Harry’s eye before sighing. 

“Your pajamas are the ones right there,” he gestured to the clothes on the other side of the trunk. “The ones with the snitches on them.”

Harry simply nodded, grabbed the clothes, and walked into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him and locking it as he, for the first time, looked himself over in the mirror. He had aged for sure, a fair bit of stubble on his chin and two more scars than he had previously. His hair was the same messy black mop, but it had bits of grey in it, and he remembered that he was supposed to be in his forties. He shook his head before stripping down and hopping into the shower, the warm water feeling like a blessing. 

After changing and brushing his teeth, he walked back into the bedroom, glancing at an already dressed Draco flipping through a novel, sprawled on the bed with his reading glasses askew. Harry stared for a moment before clearing his throat. Draco looked up, tipping the glasses down to see Harry clearly. 

“I was wondering where I can sleep?” Harry was happy that his voice was deeper with age, and that the adolescent voice cracks he was so familiar with weren’t showing right now. Draco looked taken aback for a moment, before seeming to remember that Harry would feel uncomfortable sleeping next to a man he had hated only hours before.

“This way then,” Draco muttered, before leading Harry into a room across the hall. The two bid each other goodnight, avoiding each other’s eyes as they did so, and Harry shut the door, leaving it open only a crack. He noticed that Draco did the same.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Potters take a trip to the zoo.

Harry woke the next morning to the smell of toast and sausage, and hurriedly put his glasses on before stumbling downstairs. 

Draco stood at the stove, his pajamas still perfectly in order and slippers matching as he moved the sausages around in the pan. Harry coughed, effectively gaining the man’s attention and causing him to turn. Draco gave Harry a soft smile that most definitely did not reach his eyes before popping two more slices of bread into the toaster.

Harry sat at the table, watching the blonde move around as the children slowly trickled into the kitchen. Lily, seemingly forgetting the events of yesterday, hopped onto Harry’s lap, thumb in her mouth and stuffed dragon under her arm.

“Papa?” the girl pouted as she looked at Draco, “are we still going to the zoo today? I want to see the Hipp-ah-wiffs.”

“Hippogriffs, Lilybug,” Draco corrected offhandedly as he plated breakfast. “And it’s up to your father if we go.”

Lily looked up at Harry with pleading grey eyes, and Harry softened immediately. 

“Of course we can go,” Harry mumbled, and Lily clapped before chomping into a slice of toast. 

***

Going to the zoo with five children was, expectedly, hectic. Lily had spent hours dragging them around different enclosures, forcing them to see the Hippogriffs at least three times before they finally managed to leave, and all four boys had spent the day either running off on their own or complaining about the heat. What was even more of a hassle, however, was the horde of reporters swarming around the family. Draco, who was obviously used to this, gathered the children in and held Harry close to him as the crowd grew larger.

“Merlin,” the blonde muttered under his breath, “nearly twenty years after the war and they still can’t give us a bloody break.”

Harry nodded slightly, feeling as though he was a deer caught in headlights and the cameras flashed continuously. It seemed normal as could be, until one reporter, very familiar to Harry with her lime green robes and feathers in her hair, shouted out the questions she and her ‘dear readers’ wanted an answer to.

“Mr. Malfoy, is it true that you use dark magic to discipline the children? Is it true that you have even put Lily under the cruciatus?” Skeeter yelled over the crowd, startling Harry and causing Lily to turn and put her head against his leg. Draco, startled by the accusation, turned to look at Skeeter. “Is it also true, Mr. Malfoy, that you have used the same cane that formerly belonged to your father to beat the children to the brink of death?”

Draco’s face changed from shock to rage as Skeeter continued interrogating him. Harry, unexpectedly, walked to the front of the family, staring Skeeter right in the eyes as he spoke.

“Draco has not lifted a finger to those children, Skeeter, not once, nor will he ever. Neither of us will ever touch those children. However, I have no issue with fighting you if I must, you cockroach.”

Skeeter took a step back, beady eyes wide, and Harry turned back to face his family, gesturing for them to leave.

“Dad,” Scorpius and James looked up at Harry with wide eyes, “that was AWESOME!”

Harry smiled before noticing how shaky Draco was as he started the car.

***

Draco opened the door and let everyone in, the children chattering loudly about how epic Harry was during the confrontation, each of them engaging in their own dramatic retelling. Lily’s even included Harry riding off on a Hippogriff.

Once they had all run upstairs, Draco sat down on the couch, shaking as he went down. Harry sat next to him, wondering what exactly to do as the man rubbed his temples. After a moment, Draco looked up at the ceiling, a tear rolling down his cheek, breathed in deeply, and then began to shake more as sobs racked his body. Harry sat for a moment, wondering what to do, before finally giving into his instincts from the day prior and kneeling in front of the man.

Draco’s hands were pulling his eyes and cheeks taught, gripping into his hair as he sobbed. Harry, taking a page out of Hermione’s book, slowly reached up to grab Draco’s hands, pulling them away from his hair and gripping them in his larger hands. Draco continued crying, looking down into his lap and avoiding Harry’s gaze.

“Malfoy,” Harry whispered, begging the blonde to look at him. 

“Potter,” Draco mumbled. “My last name is Potter, now. She couldn’t even get that much right.”

“Draco,” Harry tried again. “Draco can you look at me?” 

Draco finally brought his eyes up to meet Harry’s, and after a moment of quiet sniffling broke down again. Harry, once again emulating Hermione, pulled the crying blonde in for a hug, letting Draco’s head rest on his shoulder as he cried. Harry felt his stomach drop as he held the man, and stayed silent for a moment to get over the nausea.

“Draco,” Harry spoke quietly, “listen to me. Two days ago, I was sitting in my dorm at Hogwarts. I had just found out that you were a Death Eater, and I was up all night regretting attacking you for it. The Draco I am used to is rude, mean, and genuinely believes that all of the pureblood supremacy bullshit is true.”

Draco whimpered, and Harry knew he was thinking that this was going in a completely different direction. 

“But, Draco,” Harry continued, thankful that he had somehow found some form of eloquence. “The man I’ve seen during this weird experience is gentle, caring, and probably one of the softest people I’ve ever met. What Skeeter said today had absolutely no basis in truth. You would never hurt those children and we both know it. You love them. You love me, and I can see that even if I’m still not sure how this happened.”

Draco looked up at him, teary eyed and pitiful, and gave him a small smirk. “Are you falling for me, Potter?”

“Well, Malfoy,” Harry joked back, “I wouldn’t say that, but I definitely don’t hate you anymore. Not completely at least.”

Draco smiled and glanced down. Nodding and muttering quiet gratitude before heading to the kitchen to make lunch. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this is a shorter chapter, but I wanted to end it here instead of in the next scene since it made more sense to me. Let me know what you guys think so far :)


	4. Chapter 4

For the week following the zoo incident, Harry had seen Ron and the other Weasleys, including the children. He was in love with Hugo, who clung onto Hermione or Ron at all times, only mumbling small phrases as he and Lily spoke. His five year old mind was intelligent, as seen in his responses, but he was quiet and kind. He brought Lily a flower from the garden, smiling when she giggled and put it in her hair, and Harry couldn’t help but think that this was his little girl, and one day she would fully be his.

Harry continued sleeping in the room across the hall, giving Draco a wave every time they went off to bed, and the two continued to spend time together and with the children. 

One night, after a particularly grueling day of potions for Draco - whose private business worked out of their home, as he had been informed earlier that week - the blonde man had said nothing before bed, just muttered a quick “love you,” and wandered off to the bedroom. Harry sat with the children for a while longer, watching Lily play with her dragons as James and Albus played a game of exploding snap. Teddy was nestled into the couch, book in hand as he ran his fingers along the armrest.

“Ted?” Harry questioned suddenly, bringing the boy’s attention to him. 

“Yeah, dad?” The book shut.

“Are you happy? With me and Draco?”

Teddy’s brow furrowed and he looked at Harry worriedly. 

“Of course I am. You’re the best dads in the world.”

Harry looked down, mumbled out a quiet “oh,” and refrained from responding.

“He loves you, y’know,” Teddy spoke again, “he always has. He told me he loved you back in fourth year, but never had the courage to say it because of his dad. He said he wouldn’t have been with you if you hadn’t asked him first.”

Harry continued looking down, nodded, and sat fiddling with his thumbs until it was time to put the kids to bed. 

That night, as he lay in bed, all he could think about was the last day he spent at Hogwarts, covered in Draco’s blood as he desperately tried to fix the damage he caused. He fell asleep, hands clenching the pillow as he tossed and turned until, finally, sleep took him in her arms and dragged him with her.

He woke, tears running down his face and a hand running through his hair as a familiar voice whispered to him, telling him everything was okay.

“It’s okay, darling,” Draco spoke into Harry’s ear, his nimble fingers making their way through his mess of curls. “Everything is okay. You’re here, I’m here, everyone is okay. Ron and Hermione are okay. Your weasels are okay. Everyone is okay.”

Harry shuddered, thinking back to the nightmare from which he had just awoken. Draco was here. He hadn’t died in the bathroom. It was okay.

Harry nodded to let Draco know he was okay, and Draco continued to card his fingers through Harry’s curls as the chosen one drifted off to sleep once more. He felt the fingers lift after a while, and heard the man stand. As Draco turned to leave, whispering a quiet “I love you” into the air, Harry’s hand shot out to grab his. Draco turned, moonlight catching his grey eyes just enough to make them sparkle, and gave Harry a look of confusion.

“Stay,” Harry whispered into the open air, and Draco listened.

***

Harry woke in his and Draco’s bed at the end of week three.  _ One more week, _ he thought, as he turned to face the sleeping blonde. Draco was peaceful in his sleep, soft snores escaping his lips as he slumbered on.

This was also, Harry noted, the only time he could catch Draco without a long-sleeved shirt on. Draco nearly always took his pajama shirt off to sleep, revealing the dark skull and snake tattoo marring his pale skin. Harry had never dared to look before that day, too worried it would cause a negative reaction, but with only a week left of this he took his chances.

His hand found its way onto Draco’s arm, fingers brushing over the skull detailing as he glanced between the mark and Draco’s face. The blonde woke slowly, eyelids fluttering and a small smile gracing his face when his eyes met Harry’s. It was only when he looked down that he noticed what exactly Harry had been looking at, and the smile vanished.

“Harry…” the blonde whispered, trailing off into oblivion.

“Tell me,” Harry said softly, offering Draco his vulnerability in exchange for the same. “Tell me why you got it.”

The blonde sighed, shaking the smallest bit before bringing himself to look at Harry. 

“My mother,” Draco whispered, “I got it to protect her. I didn’t want to, but I had to or he would kill her.”

Harry brought his free hand up, cupping the cheek of the other man in the manner he had seen Hermione use on Ron. 

“And what was your mission?” 

Draco sighed again. “To kill Dumbledore. They wanted me to let Death Eaters into the school and kill him, but I didn’t know who they were sending and I wasn’t able to kill him.”

Harry’s mind was running a thousand miles a minute, but he focused in on the grey eyes in front of him. 

“What happened?”

“You -” Draco cut off, trying to find the words. “You and Dumbledore had gone to find a horcrux, the locket, and I was working on the vanishing cabinet. I had gotten it to work and they planned on coming immediately. Dumbledore came back, weak, and hid you, and when I got to the tower I disarmed him. He tried to help me and I should have taken it but then Aunt Bellatrix got there and she had brought Greyback and I was so - so terrified, Harry. I just stood there until Severus finally came and did it for me. Apparently Dumbledore had asked him to, in order to keep my soul pure or something, but after that I was never the same. I still can’t even look at the Astronomy Tower.”

Draco was on the verge of tears at this point, and Harry took the man into his arms, holding him tightly until they were interrupted by Lily jumping into the bed screaming about breakfast.

***

With three days until the potion was ready to take, Harry and Draco sat anxiously on the couch together, surrounded by playing children. Draco didn’t have any more potions orders to fill for the month, and instead focused on ensuring Harry knew everything he could about the war. 

“I want you to live, Harry,” Draco said when they spoke about the final battle. “Even if you feel like getting on that train, Harry, you need to live. My mother is going to lie for you, just tell her I’m safe.”

Harry held Draco at night, and Draco held Harry when he woke from his nightmares. Draco would speak in French, a language Harry knew nothing about, but apparently the children and Draco were fluent in, and Harry would listen as the man rambled on and ran his fingers through Harry’s hair. 

Harry realized, on the second-to-last day, that he had fallen in love with Draco Malfoy. He had known that he liked the man, but he found himself undoubtably staring at the man’s lips, wishing for them to meet his own. He found himself longing for the moments they got to spend together, gentle caresses and sweet whispers making their way into the dark night. 

That night, Harry listened to Draco as he mumbled in French, waiting until the perfect moment to kiss the blonde. He waited, and waited, and one moment faded into the next until all the moments were gone and he fell asleep, his lips remaining untouched. 

***

Harry and Draco walked into St. Mungos on the 13th of June to retrieve the potion. Harry spent the day surrounded by his children and his husband, knowing that at the witching hour he would be sent back to sixth year, lonely in his dormitory.

He wished, selfishly, to stay where he was, but knew that he would never be able to remember all the firsts he so desperately wanted to know. He sighed, listened to Lily talk about hippogriffs, and snuggled into Draco’s side.

In their bed that night, the two men sat snuggled against each other, Draco holding Harry close and playing with his hair.

“Draco?” 

The fingers stopped for a moment, replaced by a single kiss to the top of his hair as Draco replied with a quiet “hmm?”

“Teddy told me something interesting,” Harry continued, and the fingers found their way back into his hair. “He said you’d loved me since fourth year, but that you never would have told me.”

Draco chuckled, rattling Harry a bit.

“He decided to spill my secret then, hmm?”

“So it’s true?” Harry looked up into those grey eyes, wanting to stare into them forever. “You really did love me back then?”

“Darling,” Draco spoke, softer than Harry had heard in a while, “I have loved you for so long I cannot even remember when the thought first occurred, but I remember that year specifically, watching you fight dragons and dance with girls, and I remember that all I wanted was to see you smile. I went about it in all the wrong ways of course, but it’s truly all I wanted.”

Harry laughed, thinking back to the  _ Potter Stinks _ buttons and how angry he had been. 

“I think,” Harry said, “that I love you too, Draco Malfoy.”

Draco smiled. “Potter,” he corrected, nuzzling his nose against Harry’s before easing them back into conversation. 

The clock struck three much too soon, both of them laughing about Draco’s rendition of a muggle story. Harry felt his anxiety hit him full force, and he stared at Draco as the man handed him the potion. 

“Draco,” Harry spoke quietly. “What if this never happens?”

“It will,” Draco spoke with absolute surety. “I love you.”

Harry stared into grey eyes and downed the potion in one gulp. “I love you.”


End file.
